SHILLONG:
Giving a major boost to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2023 assembly polls, over 200 supporters, mostly from the opposition All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) from Mawsynram constituency joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on August 9.
The group of supporters led by Ruby Shangpliang, was welcomed by BJP national executive member and former minister AL Hek during an induction meeting at the BJP state office.
Speaking to press, Hek said that the en masse joining will further strengthen the party organisation in the state of Meghalaya.
Stating that the party is also anticipating more people from the different constituencies to join the party in the coming days, Hrk said, “Many sitting MLAs as well as ex-MLAs are also joining the BJP very soon.”
Addressing speculations that AITC legislator from Mawsynram Himalaya M Shangpliang will join the saffron party and he would be BJP’s candidate from the constituency, Hek said that the party cannot declare as of now as the Trinamool leader hasn’t join the party yet.
“Let him join and then we will talk. If he had joined the BJP, it would have been a different case but he has not. So, how can we declare his name as the candidate of the BJP. Moreover, it is too early to say anything now. We have the state election and the central election committee and when the time comes, we will identify who will the party’s candidate from which constituency,” he added.
Interestingly, reports say that majority of the new inductees are supporters of Shangpliang, but Hek also claimed that some of them are from the United Democratic Party (UDP) and National People’s Party (NPP).
Meanwhile, Hek informed that the BJP will contest from 40 seats in 2023. “We will try our best to install a BJP-led government in Meghalaya,” he asserted. Asked if the BJP will still be “working with” the NPP after the 2023 elections, the national executive member said that both the parties are partners in the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government but ruled out any pre-poll alliance with any party.
“We are working together as partners in the MDA but we are not going to have any pre-poll alliance with any political party,” he said.